Convicted dancehall entertainer Vybz Kartel has no plans to record music while he is serving his 35-year prison sentence.

That revelation by his attorney, Tom Tavares-Finson, came hours after the entertainer and three men were each sentenced in the Home Circuit Court to life imprisonment for the August 2011 murder of Clive 'Lizard' Williams.

"He has no intention of recording while in custody," Tavares-Finson toldThe Gleaner.

Last Thursday, Justice Lennox Campbell postponed the sentencing to allow defence attorneys to give their input and for enquiries as to whether the entertainer will be allowed to record music while behind bars.

"That is the most ridiculous proposition I have ever heard that he [Kartel] should be given authority to record while in custody," Tavares-Finson said.

"The person was not convicted to do music, he was convicted to do hard labour," he added.

Beyond court purview

Prosecutors Jeremy Taylor and Leighton Morris in their written submissions had said that such arrangements are entirely between the convict and the commissioner of corrections. They pointed out that the Corrections Act suggests that it is beyond the court's purview and jurisdiction.

Kartel, 38, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, becomes eligible for parole after he has served 35 years.

Fellow entertainer 35-year-old Shawn Campbell, popularly known as 'Shawn Storm', and 27-year-old Kahira Jones will serve 25 years before they can apply for parole while 26-year-old barber Andre St John, otherwise called 'Mad Suss', is to serve 30 years before he can be eligible for parole.

Lawyers for all four men say they will be appealing the convictions and sentences and Christian Tavares-Finson said they expect this to be done by the end of the year.

In handing down the sentences, Campbell said he took into consideration "there was a great deal of premeditation" in Williams' death.

"The deceased was subjected to elevated mental stress and was subjected to threats," Campbell said.

In addition, the judge said he took into consideration the concealment of the body and attempts to destroy evidence of the crime.

Williams' body has not been found.

However, the judge said he took into account the mitigating plea of defence attorney Pierre Rogers that the court should attach to each offender the premeditated role and the part they played.

"The court recognise the different roles the offenders played in the murder and it was proper to deal with them individually," he said.

Williams was beaten to death at Kartel's Havendale house on August 16, 2011 over two missing guns.

STARLIFE DANCEHALL

The Jamaican dance hall is and always has been the heart and soul of reggae music: it is nightclub, news medium, gathering place, church, theater, and schoolhouse all rolled into one. For the many aspiring artists who gravitate from country to city in a never-ending stream, the dance hall is a creative outlet and gateway to fame and glory. It is a metaphor for the enduring spirit of the Jamaican people expressed in music.

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